15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394 or 0774 298 4459
1 October 2003
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics indicated that the dilemma of the two women, Natallie Evans and Lorraine Hadley, who are going to the High Court today to challenge a law which says both parties responsible for creating an embryo must consent to the storage and use of the embryo, is the unfortunate result of the modern trend of freezing more and more embryos.
Dr. Calum MacKellar, Director of Research of the SCHB, indicated that "this is a very sad predicament which is the consequence of the modern storage technology of embryos" adding that "though I have a lot of sympathy for these women, these embryos should not have existed in the first place, they should only have been created once a loving environment could be secured for their development. In Germany, this problem would not exist since all embryos created by IVF for a woman must be immediately implanted "1.
Dr. MacKellar, also emphasised that if implantation did go ahead then "the potential identity problems of the possible future children should be considered very carefully" adding that "more research in this field of kinship identity between the parents and children needs to be undertaken".
Note: The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics was formed in 1997 as an independent, non-partisan council composed of physicians, lawyers, psychologists, ethicists and other professionals from disciplines associated with medical ethics. The principles to which the SCHB subscribes are set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly by resolution 217A (III) on 10 December 1948.
Contact: Dr. Calum MacKellar, Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, Eric Liddell Centre, 15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394, E-mail (provisional): schb@mail.com
1MacKellar, C., Reproductive medicine and Embryological Research, A European handbook of Bioethical Legislation, European Bioethical Research, 1997.